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House Panel Passes Bill to Halt Palestinian Authority Funding Unless They Stop 'Pay to Slay' Practice

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On Wednesday, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Taylor Force Act, which would cut U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority unless it stops the practice of paying monthly stipends to the families of terrorists who kill Israelis.
 
The bill was named in honor of a young American business school student and combat veteran named Taylor Force, who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist in March of 2016 while on a school trip to Israel.
 
The 21-year-old Palestinian man who killed him was praised and financially rewarded by the Palestinian government.
 
"That's sick. No society should reward their children for being terrorists," the bill's sponsor, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CBN News in July.
 
Graham hopes to pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop their "pay to slay" policy. The measure would cut the almost $400 million in U.S. funding to the group.
 
"We have a duty to defend our citizens and not empower people who will kill them," the South Carolina lawmaker said.
 
"Since 2003, it has been Palestinian law to reward Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with a monthly paycheck," said  Rep. Ed Royce, R-CA, the committee's chairman. "Palestinian leadership also pays the families of Palestinian prisoners and suicide bombers. These policies incentivize terrorism."
 
"With this legislation, we are forcing the PA to choose between U.S. assistance and these morally reprehensible policies, and I am pleased to see this measure move forward in both chambers with so much support," he continued. 
 
In September, the measure was included in a foreign operations bill that is scheduled for a vote by the House in December. It is expected to pass.
 
President Donald Trump has not said if he will sign the law but has indicated his support.
 
If the legislation is passed and signed into law, U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority would stop until the stipends to terrorist families were halted.
 
According to The Times of Israel, the Palestine Liberation Organization has condemned the legislation, saying shortly after its Senate committee passage that it was "unacceptable" and would violate Palestinians' human rights.
 
 

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